


pickin' up on that feline beat

by VagabondDawn



Category: Dreaming of Sunshine - Silver Queen
Genre: Future-fic, Fuuinjutsu, Gen, Jinchuriki - Freeform, Post-Series, Silver Queen's Dreaming of Sunshine Universe, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:21:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22125517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VagabondDawn/pseuds/VagabondDawn
Summary: Jounin-Sensei Sasuke is trying to take his new genin team on their very first C-rank.
Relationships: Nara Shikako & Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 21
Kudos: 562
Collections: Dreaming of Sunshine Exchange 2019 B, Heliocentrism — a Dreaming of Sunshine recursive collection





	pickin' up on that feline beat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FellsApprentice](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FellsApprentice/gifts).



> Request by FellsApprentice 
> 
> Nara Shikako & Uchiha Sasuke  
> Fluff, Slice of Life, Chakra Hypersensitivity,  
> "Should we adopt a cat?"

“Hey, Sasuke. Have you ever thought about adopting a cat?” 

Sasuke remains crouched where he is, in the middle of demonstrating how to set a proper trap around a campsite. His three genin, however, jump to their feet, pull out kunai and fall into combat stances. 

Only two of them are facing the right direction, but if he’s generous he can pretend the third thought to cover their blindspots. 

They’re so goddamn _young_. Did Kakashi feel like this, when he’d taken Team Seven? 

Scratch that. Even Sasuke remembers what a disaster they were back then. 

“Not really,” Sasuke answers mildly, bracing his elbows against his knees. “My schedule’s a little irregular most days. I’m told that’s not ideal for pet keeping. They need, like, feeding and stuff.” 

“Well, you’re a jounin-sensei now,” Shikako says, dropping down out of the trees. She makes enough noise that he can hear her moving, probably for the benefit of the kids. “That's pretty routine. And I can make a convincing argument about why you’d like this _specific_ cat a lot.” 

It’s the strain in her voice that makes him finally look up. Shikako interrupting his first C-rank with nonsense is understandable. Shikako sounding _stressed_? 

Sasuke flicks his sharingan on. 

Her hand flicks through ANBU seals so fast that if he hadn’t, he’d have missed them. _Cloud ninja. Two. Cat._

The surge of adrenaline is familiar. The sheer, gut wrenching fear for his students is much less so. Beside Shikako, he can fight anything. But fight anything _and_ protect three effectively helpless genin? That's a different question and one he doesn't know the answer to. 

_Target under control,_ Shikako signs. 

She _wouldn't_ drag a genin team into a Jinchuriki fight. Not even to get Sasuke as backup. She just wouldn't risk it. 

_Area clear?_ Sasuke asks, because clearly they can't talk about this in front of his students but if there's even the slightest chance of danger… 

_Clear_ , she confirms. 

He lets some of the tension out in a long sigh. "Team, keep setting the traps. Make sure you surround the entire clearing. And collect some firewood for a campfire, okay?" 

There's a raggedy chorus of 'yes, sensei' but the kids no longer appear to be direly afraid of the intruder. Shikako's random conversation starter has probably worked in her favour there. Probably on purpose. 

He brushes his hands off and walks with her, far enough away to be out of earshot of nosy genin and _more than_ close enough to respond if there does happen to be an enemy anywhere nearby. 

"Spill," he demands, before Shikako can wind into another wheedling aside about cats. 

She shrugs. "Nii Yugito is dead. I managed to contain the Niibi before it dispersed but you're the only adult ninja in the near vicinity that I'd trust with a bijuu. How do you feel about becoming a jinchuriki, Sasuke?" 

He rubs a hand across his face. "Not how I expected my C-rank mission to go," he mutters. And he'd thought he _had_ no expectations for how C-ranks went. 

Shikako hesitates, then continues. "Basically it's you or me and, well. I'm not _entirely_ sure…" 

"Yeah, no," Sasuke says instantly. He's seen what Jyuuken does to her. The last thing _Shikako Nara_ needs is a foreign entity shoved into her chakra system. Letting it disperse is an option but Sasuke was _there_ when the Sanbi reformed and even if the Niibi is under her own control he doesn't expect it would go much better. 

Because they're not standing right next to any major hidden village. If the Niibi reformed around here, there would be _competition_ to see who could get to it first. There would be a bloodbath, if not an outright war. 

He makes a sound of disgust. "There's going to be so much politics about this," he says. Cloud alone is going to raise hell at losing control of one of their bijuu — and that's assuming Shikako wasn't the one to kill Nii Yugito, which Sasuke can't rule out and probably doesn't have time to ask about. 

Shikako makes a faux-sympathetic noise. "Well, a jounin-sensei has time for that," she says. "It's all, you know, low stakes light duty stuff." 

"Do you even remember being a genin?" Sasuke shoots back. None of those words fit their experience, though he has to admit his team _has_ been pretty low stakes light duty boring. 

This is not really the kind of excitement he wanted. 

"I'll summon Nagaoka to take your team back to Konoha," Shikako says, flicking back to professionalism for half a second. "You might be out of it for a while afterwards, but we're about as safe as we'll get right now. The seal holding the Niibi won't last too long, so we should move quickly." 

Sasuke nods. "One condition. Don't _ever_ make jokes about me being a cat person." 

The grin Shikako gives him is not reassuring. 

**Author's Note:**

> Title from 'Everybody Wants to be a Cat' — The Aristocats soundtrack


End file.
